The Homer girls continued their mastery of Nikiski, topping the Bulldogs 44-41 for the Southcentral Conference title Saturday in Homer.
It was a year of parity in the conference, especially on the girls side, but certain patterns did emerge. Despite taking the top seed on the girls side, Nikiski went 0-2 against No. 3-seeded Homer in league play, and that trend continued Saturday.
Both teams get Class 3A state berths — Nikiski for the second year in a row and Homer for the first time since 2006, when the Mariners were playing at the Class 3A level.
Homer led 14-8 after the first quarter, 18-17 after the second quarter and 31-27 headed into the final eight minutes.
Nikiski could not overcome 24.5 percent shooting from the floor. Homer was 39 percent from the field, including a 5 of 10 performance from Madison Akers, who paced the Mariners with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Rachel Thompson came through with a similarly big performance for the Bulldogs, netting 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. Alison Litke added 10 points for the Bulldogs.
ACS boys 53, Grace Christian 49
The No. 2 seed Lions got past the top-seeded Grizzlies for the title.
Trey Huckabay had 25 points for ACS, while Levi Auble added 15. For Grace, Trevor Osborne had 13, Ryan Sheldon had 12 points and Tobin Karlberg had 11 points.
Cordova boys 52, Homer 50
The No. 4 seed Wolverines edged the No. 3 seed Mariners for third place and a state berth.
Cordova led 28-21 at halftime, but Homer grabbed a 39-36 lead after three quarters. A game that saw even stats pretty much across the board then came down to the wire.
Dylan Chesier of Cordova made a big difference in the game with 21 points, which included 6 of 12 shooting from 3-point range. Jacob Werner added 16 points.
For Homer, Sheldon Hutt had 17 points and Kenneth Schneider added 12 points.
ACS girls 38, Grace 33
The Lions held off the Grizzlies to wrap up third place and a state berth.
Grace outrebounded ACS 34-22, but ACS hit 41.5 percent of its shots, while Grace connected on just 22.9 percent.
Cordova boys 67, Nikiski 48
Jacob Werner scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds as the Wolverines advanced to the third-place game and ended Nikiski’s season.
The Bulldogs went cold from the floor in the game, hitting 21.4 percent while Cordova was good 43.8 percent of the time. The Wolverines also had a 41-29 advantage on the boards.
Cade Anderson had 13 points for Nikiski, while Nathan Carstens chipped in 10.
Homer boys 69, Seward 50
The Mariners advanced to the third-place game by using a quick start and hot shooting to down the Seahawks.
Homer grabbed a 22-8 lead after the first quarter. The Mariners were 61.4 percent from the floor, while Seward was 37.3 percent.
Seward, with its lack of height, had no answer for big man Sheldon Hutt, who had 21 points on 9 of 10 shooting. Jaruby Nelson added 15 points on 6 of 9 shooting.
For Seward, Alex Pahno had 16 points on 8 of 14 shooting, and Ronnie Jackson chipped in 11.
Grace girls 35, Seward 21
The Grizzlies moved to the second-place game and ended Seward’s season short of a fifth-straight state berth.
The game was a defensive struggle, with Grace shooting 30.6 percent and Seward connecting on 16.7 percent.
Annie VanderWeide had nine points for Grace, while Jasmine Perea had 14 for Seward.
ACS girls 42, Cordova 32
The Lions advanced to the second-place game by taking a 14-7 lead after the first quarter and keeping the Wolverines at bay.
Caroline Bowden had 16 points for ACS, while Sara Hamberger had 11 for Cordova.
All-Conference
BOYS
Coach of year — Jason Boerger, ACS.
MVP — Levi Auble, ACS.
First team — Bobby Wilson, ACS; Trey Huckabay, ACS; Luke Johnson, Nikiski; Trevor Osborne, Grace; Tobin Karlberg, Grace; Michael Wolfe, Seward; Jaruby Nelson, Homer; Sheldon Hutt, Homer; Kenneth Schneider, Homer; Dylan Cheshier, Cordova; Jacob Werner, Cordova.
Second team — Cade Anderson, Nikiski; Nathan Carstens, Nikiski; Daniel VanderWeide, Grace; Ronnie Jackson, Seward; Alex Pahno, Seward; Ben Bitler, Houston; Kade Taylor, Houston; Filip Reutov, Homer; Randy Kohutek, ACS.
Good sport — Tyler Scott, ACS; Chatham Warga, Cordova; Daniel VanderWeide, Grace; Filip Reutov, Homer; Lai Saechao, Houston; Garratt Dohse, Nikiski; Michael Marshall, Seward.
GIRLS
Coach of year — Scott Anderson, Nikiski.
MVP — Rachel Thompson, Nikiski.
First team — Alison Litke, Nikiski; Madison Akers, Homer; Kayla Stafford, Homer; Aurora Waclawski, Homer; Mikayla Shamburger, Grace; Hayley Hagen, Grace; Kimberly Quincy, Houston; Dariah Songer, Cordova; Kiana Clemens, Seward; Jasmine Perea, Seward; Caroline Bowden, ACS; Raven Thibodeaux, ACS.
Second team — Mary Hogan, Grace; Aspen Ruth, Houston; Sara Hamberger, Cordova; Becca Land, ACS.
Good sport — Jory Sutter, ACS; Chandelle Erbey, Cordova; Sarah Laker, Grace; Larsen Fellows, Homer; Ashley Apangalook, Houston; Chana Litzen, Nikiski; Maria Jackson, Seward.
CHEER
Coach of year — Leona Alexander, Homer.
All-Conference — Burganndy Toennis, Houston; Misha Johnson-Gray, Seward; Kimberly Hubbard, Seward; Makayla Dumars, Seward; KC Davis, ACS; Samantha Severson, ACS; Nicole Stooksbury, ACS; Michael Swoboda, Homer; Josh Fisk, Homer; Riley Walls, Homer.
Good sport — Jaelyn Singleton, ACS; Riley Walls, Homer; Destiney Farmer, Houston; Kimberly Hubbard, Seward.
Saturday boys
Mariners 69, Seahawks 50
Seward 8 11 12 19 —50
Homer 22 14 14 19 —69
SEWARD (50) — Jacobson 0 0-0 0, Berry 1 0-0 2, Marshall 3 2-2 9, A. Pahno 8 0-0 16, Zweifel 0 0-0 0, Brewi 0 0-0 0, Wolfe 1 0-2 3, Sieverts 1 0-0 2, N. Pahno 0 1-2 1, DeBoard 2 1-4 5, Jackson 3 4-5 11. Totals — 19 9-17 50.
HOMER (69) — B. Beachy 2 0-0 4, Edens 0 2-2 2, Reutov 4 0-0 8, Schneider 1 4-4 6, Nelson 6 0-0 15, J. Beachy 3 0-0 7, Brown 1 2-3 4, Tedesco 0 0-0 0, Knisley 1 0-0 2, Ravin 0 0-0 0, Rainwater 0 0-0 0, Hutt 9 3-5 21. Totals — 27 11-14 69.
3-point goals — Seward 3 (Marshall, Wolfe, Jackson); Homer 4 (Nelson 3, J. Beachy). Team fouls — Seward 16, Homer 12. Fouled out — none.
Wolverines 52, Mariners 50
Cordova 13 15 8 16 —52
Homer 9 12 18 11 —50
CORDOVA (52) — Brandt 0 0-0 0, Songer 0 3-4 3, Ridao 0 0-0 0, Muma 2 0-0 4, Jewell 2 0-0 4, Chesier 6 3-4 21, Werner 5 6-10 16, Plant 2 0-0 4. Totals — 17 12-18 52.
HOMER (50) — B. Beachy 0 0-0 0, Reutov 3 0-0 8, Schneider 5 0-0 12, Nelson 4 0-0 9, Brown 2 0-0 4, Hutt 5 7-11 17. Totals — 19 7-11 50.
3-point goals — Cordova 6 (Chesier 6); Homer 5 (Reutov 2, Schneider 2, Nelson). Team fouls — Cordova 15, Homer 15. Fouled out — none.
Wolverines 67, Bulldogs 48
Nikiski 13 9 10 16 —48
Cordova 15 14 18 20 —67
NIKISKI (48) — Anderson 4 4-4 13, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Holloway 2 4-4 9, Tauriainen 2 0-0 6, N. Carstens 1 8-10 10, Jackson 0 2-3 2, Pamplin 2 1-2 6. Totals — 12 19-23 48.
CORDOVA (67) — Brandt 1 2-2 4, Songer 0 0-0 0, Ridao 2 1-2 7, Varnadoe 0 0-0 0, Muma 1 1-2 3, Jewell 6 0-2 12, Chesier 2 0-0 5, Werner 5 10-11 22, Sjostedt 1 0-0 2, Warga 1 0-0 2, Plant 2 6-6 10. Totals — 21 20-25 67.
3-point goals — Nikiski 5 (Tauriainen 2, Anderson, Holloway, Pamplin); Team fouls — Nikiski 21, Cordova 19. Fouled out — Tauriainen.
Saturday girls
Grizzlies 35, Seahawks 21
Grace 8 3 14 10 —35
Seward 3 5 7 6 —21
GRACE CHRISTIAN (35) — VanderWeide 3 0-0 9, Hagen 2 0-3 5, Mc. Shamburger 0 0-0 0, Hogan 1 0-0 3, Logan 1 2-3 4, Lindfors 0 0-0 0, Ackerman 0 2-2 2, Laker 2 3-4 7, Mi. Shamburger 2 1-4 5. Totals — 11 8-16 35.
SEWARD (21) — Honebein 0 0-0 0, Jackson 1 0-0 2, Baldwin 0 0-0 0, Lapanskas 0 0-0 0, Perea 5 4-5 14, Clemens 2 0-0 5. Totals — 8 4-5 21.
3-point goals — Grace 5 (VanderWeide 3, Hagen, Hogan); Seward 1 (Clemens). Team fouls — Grace 10, Seward 13. Fouled out — none.
Mariners 44, Bulldogs 41
Nikiski 8 9 10 14 —41
Homer 14 4 13 13 —44
NIKISKI (41) — Parrish 0 0-0 0, Riddall 0 0-0 0, Pitt 1 0-0 2, Litke 3 2-4 10, Kornstad 0 0-0 0, Thompson 5 13-16 23, Litzen 3 0-0 6. Totals — 12 15-20 41.
HOMER (44) — Reutov 3 1-1 7, Alexander 1 3-3 5, Clark 0 0-0 0, Akers 5 2-2 12, Fellows 2 2-4 6, Waclawski 3 1-3 7, Stafford 2 2-4 7. Totals — 16 11-17 44.
3-point goals — Nikiski 2 (Litke 2); Homer 1 (Stafford). Team fouls — Nikiski 14, Homer 15. Fouled out — none.
